I know the minute you read that title, the names of a dozen villages, towns, etc that you've "heard about" just floated through your head. Apart from tribal stereotypes, we (Nigerians) also have specific stereotypes about people from particular villages or towns.

Here's a random list of stereotypes that come to mind (feel free to add your own):Women from that village (or area) are too promiscuous.

Men from that village are drunkards and wife beaters (the act, not the singlet).

People from that village are very, very fetish. If you marry any of them, God help you!

Men from that village are confirmed ritualists. That man you are dating resembles people from that side, so ....

People from that town are well-known scammers. In fact, their great grandfather/ancestor was cursed for stealing and their town is called SCAM in their native dialect.

Etcetera, etcetera.

Notice how many of these stereotypes are linked with criminal activity or vices: stealing, domestic abuse, scams, rituals, murder, etc.

What usually happens is that people you know will mention these stereotypes in passing, over the course of your life. That includes parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, random strangers, etc. In short, anybody who has a mouth will talk.

If you hear it once, you might not take it seriously. But when more and more people keep saying the same thing, you might start to believe it.

That's the problem with stereotypes, i.e. you judge people even before you get to know them based on something someone told you about people from that village.

But are stereotypes just stereotypes or is there some truth in them?

I believe that in most cases there is no smoke without fire. There might be some truth in stereotypes as far as history goes e.g. maybe a village really has a strange name because of its dark history.

Also, I don't think it is wise to disregard warning signs and negative patterns that you may observe in a particular family. There are certainly such things as generational curses, etc that should be taken seriously before marriage.

But generally, I believe in making an informed decision. Making an informed decision means that you use information you acquire to arrive at a sensible decision.

Get to know a person first before writing him/her off because of his or her village/town of origin.

What do you say? Are there certain villages or towns you've heard stereotypes of? Do you take those stereotypes seriously? Let's hear it!